"People who wear a beard are paying the price for those members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups who have resorted to violence" in recent days, said May Moujib, professor of political science at Cairo University.

Those affected range from actual Brotherhood members to those who have no affiliation with the group but happen to sport a beard.

One Western news photographer decided to shave his beard after being repeatedly accosted in the street and even threatened by Egyptians
who mistook him for a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

A bearded taxi driver, meanwhile, admitted customers were increasingly reluctant to use his services.

"This is possibly the beginning of a campaign to boycott bearded taxi drivers," he told AFP.

Mohammed Ibrahim, a pharmacist who also has a beard, has changed his route to work and the hours he keeps in order to avoid "tension with the popular committees."

Photo: Reuters

As the crackdown continues, reports have suggested that some preachers have even offered religious dispensation to the faithful who want to shave their beards to avoid being targeted.

"The hostility of the people is even worse than police harassment," said Mohamed Tolba, a Salafist Muslim.

"We are observing a tenet of Islam,
but we face the hatred of the population," said Tolba, who has recently launched an online comic to try to break frequently-held stereotypes of Salafist
Muslims.

"The targeting of those with beards is deplorable behaviour which threatens peaceful coexistence between Egyptians," warned Nivine Messad, another political science professor at Cairo University.

"It is a bad sign for the future, and an indication of the divisions between Egyptians," she said.

"Cooler heads must step in to put an end to the violence and incitement."